JP2009540744A - Outbound content-type QoS method and system - Google Patents

Abstract

  Certain embodiments of the present invention provide a method (500) for communicating inbound network data and providing QoS. The method (500) includes receiving data from an application, prioritizing the data by assigning a priority to the data, and communicating the data over the network based at least in part on the priority of the data. The priority of the data is based at least in part on the message content. Certain embodiments of the present invention provide a system (400) for communicating inbound network data and providing QoS. The system (400) includes a data prioritization component (460) adapted to prioritize data by assigning priorities to the data, and receives data from the application and at least partially in the priority of the data And a data communication component (470) adapted to communicate data over the network. The priority of the data is based at least in part on the message content.

Description

  The present invention relates generally to communication networks. In particular, the present invention relates to an outbound content-based quality of service system and method.

  Communication networks are used in various environments. Typically, a communication network includes two or more nodes connected by one or more links. In general, communication networks are used to support communication between two or more participating nodes on a link and intermediate nodes of the communication network. There may be many types of nodes in the network. For example, the network may include nodes such as clients, servers, workstations, switches, and / or routers. For example, the link may be a modem connection over a telephone line, wiring, an Ethernet link, an Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) line, a satellite link, and / or a fiber optic cable.

  Indeed, the communication network may consist of one or more small communication networks. For example, the Internet is often described as a network of interconnected computer networks. Each network may utilize a different architecture and / or topology. For example, one network may be a star topology switched Ethernet network and the other network may be a FDDI (Fiber-Distributed Data Interface) ring.

  A communication network may carry a wide range of data. For example, the network may communicate bulk file transfers with interactive real-time conversation data. Data transmitted over a network is often transmitted in packets, cells or frames. Alternatively, the data may be sent as a stream. In some cases, the stream or flow of data may be an actual sequence of packets. A network such as the Internet provides a general data path between a series of nodes and conveys a lot of data with different requirements.

  Communication over a network typically includes multiple levels of communication protocols. A protocol stack (also called a networking stack or protocol suite) refers to a collection of protocols used for communication. Each protocol may specialize in a specific type of function or a specific type of communication. For example, one protocol may relate to electrical signals required to communicate with devices connected by a conductor. For example, other protocols may handle ordered reliable transmissions between two nodes separated by many intermediate nodes.

  Typically, the protocols in the protocol stack exist in a hierarchy. Often protocols are grouped into layers. One reference model of the protocol layer is an OSI (Open Systems Interconnection) model. The OSI reference model includes seven layers (physical layer, data link layer, network layer, transport layer, session layer, presentation layer, and application layer). The physical layer is the “lowest” layer, and the application layer is the “highest” layer. Two well-known transport layer protocols are TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) and UDP (User Datagram Protocol). A well-known network layer protocol is IP (Internet Protocol).

  At the sending node, the transmitted data is conveyed down the protocol stack layer from highest to lowest. Conversely, at the receiving node, data is passed up the layers from lowest to highest. At each layer, data may be handled by that layer's protocol processing communications. For example, the transport layer protocol may add a header to the data that enables packet reordering when it reaches the destination node. Depending on the application, certain layers may or may not be used, and data may simply pass through.

  One type of communication network is a tactical data network. A tactical data network may also be referred to as a tactical communication network. A tactical data network may be utilized by units within an organization such as the military (eg, army, navy and / or air force). For example, nodes in a tactical data network may include individual soldiers, aircraft, command units, satellites, and / or radios. A tactical data network may be used to communicate data such as voice, position measurement data, sensor data, and / or real-time video.

  An example of how a tactical data network can be used is as follows. Logistics units may be in the route to provide supplies to battlefield combat units. Logistics units and combat units may provide position data to command centers over satellite radio links. An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) patrols a road where troops are present, and may also transmit real-time video data to the command post via a satellite radio link. At the command post, the analyst may examine the video data while the controller is working with the UAV to provide a video of a particular part of the road. The analyst finds an explosive device (IED) approaching the unit, sends a command to stop the unit over the direct radio link, and alerts the unit to the presence of the IED.

  The various networks that can exist within a tactical data network can have many different architectures and characteristics. For example, a command unit network may include a gigabit Ethernet local area network (LAN) along with a radio link to a satellite, and a work unit may operate with significantly lower throughput and higher latency. Working units may communicate via satellite and direct path radio frequency (RF). Data may be transmitted point-to-point, multicast, or broadcast depending on the nature of the data and / or specific physical characteristics of the network. For example, the network may include a radio set to relay data. Further, the network may include a high frequency (HF) network that enables long-range communication. For example, a microwave network may also be used. For other reasons, due to the diversity of link and node types, tactical networks often have overly complex network addressing schemes and routing tables. In addition, some networks, such as wireless networks, may operate using bursts. That is, instead of continuously transmitting data, a periodic burst of data is transmitted. This is useful because the radio is broadcasting on a particular channel that must be shared by all participants, and only one radio may transmit at a time.

  Tactical data networks are generally limited in bandwidth. That is, more data than the available bandwidth is generally communicated at any given time. For example, these constraints may be due to demand for bandwidth that exceeds supply and / or may be due to available communication technologies that do not provide sufficient bandwidth to meet user demand. For example, between certain nodes, the bandwidth can be in units of kilobits / second. In bandwidth-constrained tactical data networks, less important data can clog the network, preventing more important data from passing on time, or not reaching the receiving node at all. Furthermore, part of the network may include an internal buffer to compensate for unreliable links. This can cause further delay. In addition, data may be discarded when the buffer is full.

  In many cases, the bandwidth available to the network cannot be increased. For example, the bandwidth that can be used in a satellite communication link is fixed and cannot be effectively increased without arranging other satellites. In these cases, bandwidth must be managed, not simply expanded to meet demand. In large systems, network bandwidth is an important resource. It is desirable for applications to use bandwidth as efficiently as possible. In addition, it is desirable to avoid applications “clogging the pipe”. That is, it is desirable to avoid overwhelming the link with data when the bandwidth is limited. As the bandwidth allocation changes, the application should preferably react. Bandwidth can change dynamically due to, for example, quality of service, jamming, signal impairment, priority reassignment, and viewing direction. The network can be quite unstable and the available bandwidth can change rapidly without notice.

  In addition to bandwidth constraints, tactical data networks can experience high latency. For example, a network involved in communication on a satellite link can cause latency on the order of 0.5 seconds or more. In some communications this may not be a problem, but in other cases (real time, interactive communications (eg, voice communications), etc.) it is highly desirable to minimize latency as much as possible.

  Another characteristic common to many tactical data networks is data loss. Data can be lost for various reasons. For example, a node having data to transmit may be damaged or destroyed. As another example, the destination node may be temporarily invisible from the network. This may occur, for example, because the node has moved out of range, the communication link has been disturbed, and / or the node has been jammed. Data may be lost because the destination node cannot receive and the intermediate node lacks sufficient capacity to buffer the data until the destination node becomes available. Further, the intermediate node may not buffer the data at all, and instead leaves it to the sending node to determine whether the data has actually reached the destination.

  Often, tactical data network applications do not recognize and / or consider specific characteristics of the network. For example, the application may simply assume that it has as much bandwidth as available. As another example, an application may assume that no data is lost on the network. Applications that do not take into account the specific characteristics of the underlying communications network may actually behave to exacerbate the problem. For example, an application may continue to transmit a stream of data as if it could be effectively transmitted in large bundles less frequently. For example, a continuous stream can cause significant overhead in broadcast wireless networks that effectively lack other nodes to communicate, while less frequent bursts make efficient use of shared bandwidth Allows to be done.

  Certain protocols do not work well with tactical data networks. For example, protocols such as TCP may not work well in wireless tactical networks due to the high loss rates and latency that such networks can face. TCP requires several types of handshaking and delivery confirmation to occur in order to send data. High latency and loss can result in TCP timing out and not being able to transmit a lot of important data over such networks even if present.

  Information communicated over a tactical data network often has various levels of priority over other data in the network. For example, an airplane danger warning receiver may have higher priority than ground unit location information several miles away. As another example, orders from headquarters for engagement may have higher priority than logistical communication behind a friendship line. The priority level may depend on the specific situation of the transmitter and / or receiver. For example, position measurement data can be much higher priority when a unit is actively engaged in combat than when the unit simply follows a standard circuit route. Similarly, real-time data from UAVs may have a higher priority when on the target area than when simply in the route.

  There are several ways to distribute data over a network. One approach used by many communication networks is the “best effort” approach. That is, the data to be communicated is processed as much as possible by the network in terms of capacity, latency, reliability, reordering and errors, assuming other demands. Thus, the network does not provide a guarantee that any given data will reach the destination on time or anyway. Furthermore, there is no guarantee that the data will arrive in the order it was transmitted or without transmission errors that change one or more bits of the data.

  Another approach is Quality of Service (QoS). QoS refers to one or more functions of a network that provide various types of guarantees about the data being transmitted. For example, a network that supports QoS may guarantee a certain amount of bandwidth for the data stream. As another example, the network may ensure that packets between two specific nodes have some maximum latency. Such a guarantee can be useful in the case of voice communications where the two nodes are two people having a conversation on the network. For example, delays in data distribution in such cases can cause unpleasant interruptions in communication and / or total silence.

  QoS can be viewed as a network function that provides better service to selected network traffic. The main goal of QoS is to provide a priority that includes dedicated bandwidth, controlled jitter and latency (required by some real-time interactive traffic), and improved loss characteristics. Another important goal is to ensure that other flows do not fail by providing the priority of one flow. That is, the guarantee made for the next flow must not break the guarantee made for the existing flow.

  Current approaches to QoS often require that each node of the network support QoS, or at a minimum each node of the network involved in a particular communication supports QoS. For example, in the current system, in order to provide a guarantee of latency between two nodes, each node that communicates traffic between these two nodes recognizes and agrees to the honor, It must be possible to fulfill the guarantee.

  There are several ways to provide QoS. One approach is Integrated Services or “IntServ”. IntServ is a QoS system in which each node of a network supports services and these services are reserved when a connection is set up. IntServ is not very scalable due to the large amount of state information that must be maintained at each node and the overhead associated with setting up such a connection.

  Another approach to providing QoS is Differentiated Services or “DiffServ”. DiffServ is a type of service model that extends the best effort service of networks such as the Internet. DiffServ distinguishes traffic according to users, service requirements and other criteria. Next, DiffServ marks the packets so that network nodes can provide different levels of service through priority queues or bandwidth allocation, or by selecting a dedicated route for a particular traffic flow. Typically, a node has different queues for each class of service. The node selects the next packet to send from these queues based on the class category.

  Existing QoS measures are often network specific and each network type or architecture may require a different QoS configuration. Because of the mechanism used by existing QoS measures, messages that look similar to current QoS systems may actually have different priorities based on message content. However, data consumers may need to access high priority data without overflowing with low priority data. Existing QoS systems cannot provide QoS based on message content at the transport layer.

  As described above, existing QoS countermeasures require at least a node involved in specific communication in order to support QoS. However, nodes at the “edge” of the network may be adapted to provide some improvement to QoS even if they cannot make a comprehensive guarantee. A node is considered to be at the edge of the network if it is a participating node of communication (ie, a sending and / or receiving node) and / or located at a network chokepoint. A gateway is a part of the network that all traffic must pass through to other parts. The router or gateway from the LAN to the satellite link is the gateway. This is because all traffic from the LAN to any node not on the LAN must pass through the gateway to the satellite link.

  Accordingly, there is a need for a system and method for providing QoS in a tactical data network. There is a need for systems and methods that provide QoS at the edge of a tactical data network. Furthermore, there is a need for a configurable QoS system and method that can be adapted in a tactical data network.

  Certain embodiments of the present invention provide a method for communicating inbound network data and providing QoS. The method includes receiving data from an application, prioritizing the data by assigning a priority to the data, and communicating the data over the network based at least in part on the priority of the data. The priority of the data is based at least in part on the message content.

  Certain embodiments of the present invention provide a system for communicating inbound network data and providing QoS. The system includes a data prioritization component adapted to prioritize data by assigning priorities to the data, and data received from the application, and data on the network based at least in part on the priority of the data. And a data communication component adapted to communicate. The priority of the data is based at least in part on the message content.

  Certain embodiments of the present invention provide a computer-readable medium. The computer readable medium includes a set of instructions that execute on a computer. The set of instructions includes a data prioritization routine configured to prioritize data by assigning priorities to the data, and data received from the application, and data on the network based at least in part on the priority of the data. And a data communication routine configured to communicate. The priority of the data is based at least in part on the message content.

Tactical communication network environment operating in an embodiment of the invention Location of data communication system in 7-layer OSI network model according to an embodiment of the present invention Examples of multiple networks facilitated using a data communication system according to embodiments of the present invention Data communication environment operating in an embodiment of the present invention 5 is a flowchart of a data communication method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  The foregoing summary and the following detailed description of specific embodiments of the present invention will be better understood when read in conjunction with the appended drawings. For the purpose of illustrating the invention, certain embodiments are shown in the drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the configurations and means shown in the accompanying drawings.

  FIG. 1 illustrates a tactical communication network environment 100 that operates in an embodiment of the present invention. The network environment 100 includes a plurality of communication nodes 110, one or more networks 120, one or more links 130 connecting the nodes and networks, and one or more that facilitate communication in the components of the network environment 100. Communication system 150. The following description assumes a network environment 100 that includes more than one network 120 and more than one link 130, but it will be appreciated that other environments are possible and envisioned.

  For example, the communication node 110 may be and / or include a radio, transmitter, satellite, receiver, workstation, server, and / or other computing or processing device.

  For example, the network 120 may be hardware and / or software that transmits data between the nodes 110. For example, the network 120 may include one or more nodes 110.

  Link 130 may be a wired and / or wireless connection that allows transmission between node 110 and / or network 120.

  For example, the communication system 150 may include software, firmware, and / or hardware used to facilitate data transmission between the node 110, the network 120, and the link. As shown in FIG. 1, the communication system 150 may be implemented with respect to the node 110, the network 120 and / or the link 130. In particular embodiments, each node 110 includes a communication system 150. In particular embodiments, one or more nodes 110 include a communication system 150. In certain embodiments, one or more nodes 110 may not include the communication system 150.

  The communication system 150 provides dynamic management of data that is useful for ensuring communication over a tactical communication network (such as the network environment 100). As shown in FIG. 2, in certain embodiments, the system 150 operates as part of and / or above the transport layer in the OSI seven-layer protocol model. For example, the system 150 may prioritize high priority data passed to the transport layer in the tactical network. The system 150 may be used to facilitate communication over a single network (such as a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN)) or through multiple networks. An example of a multiple network system is shown in FIG. For example, system 150 may be used to manage available bandwidth rather than adding additional bandwidth to the network.

  In particular embodiments, system 150 is a software system, but in various embodiments, system 150 may include both hardware and software components. For example, the system 150 may be independent of network hardware. That is, the system 150 may be adapted to function on various hardware and software platforms. In certain embodiments, the system 150 operates at the edge of the network rather than a node inside the network. However, the system 150 may operate similarly within a network, such as a “choke point” of the network.

  The system 150 may use rules and modes or profiles to perform throughput management functions such as optimizing available bandwidth, setting information priorities, and managing data links in the network. Bandwidth “optimization” means that the techniques described herein can be used to increase the efficiency of bandwidth usage for communicating data in one or more networks. For example, bandwidth usage optimization may include removing functionally redundant messages, message stream management or ordering, and message compression. For example, setting information priority may include distinguishing message formats with finer granularity than Internet Protocol (IP) type technology, and ordering messages into a data stream via a selected rule-type ordering algorithm. . For example, data link management may include rule-type analysis of network measurements that affect changes in rules, modes and / or data transfer. A mode or profile may include a set of rules regarding the operational needs of a particular network health condition or situation. The system 150 includes defining and switching to a new mode while in progress, and provides a dynamic “on-the-fly” reconfiguration of modes.

  The communication system 150 may be configured to adapt to changing priorities and grades of service, for example in networks with unstable bandwidth constraints. The system 150 may be configured to manage improved data flow information to help increase network responsiveness and reduce communication latency. Further, the system 150 may provide interoperability through a flexible architecture that is upgradeable and scalable to improve communication availability, survivability, and reliability. For example, the system 150 supports a data communication architecture that can be autonomously adaptable to a dynamically changing environment while using predetermined and predictable system resources and bandwidth.

  In certain embodiments, the system 150 provides throughput management for bandwidth-constrained tactical communication networks while remaining transparent to applications using the network. System 150 provides throughput management across multiple users and environments with reduced complexity to the network. As described above, in certain embodiments, the system 150 operates host nodes at and / or above the OSI seven-layer model Layer 4 (Transport Layer) and requires dedicated network hardware. do not do. System 150 may operate transparent to the layer 4 interface. That is, the application does not have to recognize the operation of the system 150 using a standard interface for the transport layer. For example, when an application opens a socket, the system 150 may filter data at this point in the protocol stack. The system 150 achieves transparency by allowing applications to use a TCP / IP socket interface provided by, for example, the operating system of the communication device on the network, rather than an interface specific to the system 150. For example, the rules of the system 150 may be written in extensible markup language (XML) and / or provided via a custom dynamic link library (DLL).

  In particular embodiments, system 150 provides quality of service (QoS) at the edge of the network. For example, the system QoS feature provides content-based rule-based data prioritization at the edge of the network. For example, prioritization may include distinction and / or ordering. For example, the system 150 may differentiate messages into queues based on user configurable differentiation rules. Messages may be ordered into the data stream in the order described by the user-configured ordering rules (eg, starvation, round robin, relative frequency, etc.). For example, a data message that cannot be distinguished by a normal QoS technique using QoS at the edge may be distinguished based on the message content. For example, the rules may be implemented in XML. In certain embodiments, for example, system 150 allows a dynamic link library to include custom code to accommodate features beyond XML and / or to support very low latency requirements.

  Network inbound and / or outbound data may be customized via the system 150. For example, prioritization protects client applications from large amounts of low priority data. The system 150 helps ensure that the application receives data that supports a particular operating scenario or constraint.

  In certain embodiments, when a host is connected to a LAN that includes a router as an interface to a bandwidth-constrained tactical network, the system may operate in a configuration known as proxy QoS. In this configuration, a packet destined for the local LAN bypasses the system and immediately proceeds to the LAN. The system applies QoS at the edge of the network to packets destined for bandwidth-constrained tactical networks.

  In particular embodiments, system 150 provides dynamic support for multiple operating scenarios and / or network environments via commanded profile switching. The profile may include a name or other identifier that allows the user or system to change to the named profile. For example, a profile can also be a functional redundancy rule identifier, a differentiation rule identifier, an archival interface identifier, an ordering rule identifier, a pre-send interface identifier, a post-send interface identifier, a transport identifier, and / or other identifiers. One or more identifiers may be included. For example, a functional redundancy rule identifier specifies a rule that detects functional redundancy, such as data staleness or substantially similar data. For example, the distinction rule identifier specifies a rule that distinguishes between queues that process messages. For example, the archival interface identifier specifies an interface to the archival system. The ordering rule identifier specifies the ordering algorithm that controls the samples at the front of the queue, and thus specifies the ordering of the data in the data stream. For example, the pre-transmission interface identifier specifies an interface for pre-transmission processing that provides special processing such as encryption and compression. For example, the post-transmission interface identifier specifies an interface for post-transmission processing that provides processing such as decoding and decompression. The transport identifier specifies the network interface of the selected transport.

  For example, the profile may also include other information such as queue size information. For example, the queue size information identifies the number of queues and the amount of secondary storage and memory dedicated to each queue.

  In certain embodiments, system 150 provides a rule-based approach to optimize bandwidth. For example, the system 150 may use queue selection rules to distinguish messages into message queues, so that messages may be assigned a priority of the data stream and an appropriate relative frequency. System 150 may use functional redundancy rules to manage functionally redundant messages. For example, a message is functionally redundant if it does not differ sufficiently (as defined by the rules) from a previous message that has not yet been sent on the network. That is, if a new message is provided that is not sufficiently different from an old message that has already been scheduled to be transmitted, but has not yet been transmitted, the new message may be discarded. This is because older messages carry functionally equivalent information and are in front of the queue. Moreover, much of the functional redundancy actually includes duplicate messages and new messages that arrive before old messages are sent. For example, a node may receive an identical copy of a particular message, such as a message sent by two different paths for fault tolerance reasons due to the characteristics of the underlying network. As another example, a new message may include data that replaces an old message that has not yet been sent. In this state, the system 150 may discard old messages and send only new messages. The system 150 may also include priority ordering rules that determine the priority type message sequence of the data stream. Further, the system 150 may include transmission processing rules that provide processing dedicated to pre-transmission and post-transmission, such as compression and / or encryption.

  In certain embodiments, the system 150 provides fault tolerance capabilities to help protect data integrity and reliability. For example, the system 150 may use user-defined queue selection rules to differentiate messages into queues. For example, the queue is sized according to a user-defined configuration. For example, this configuration specifies the maximum amount of memory that the queue can consume. Furthermore, this configuration may allow the user to specify the location and amount of secondary storage that can be used for queue overflow. After the queue memory is full, the message may be queued in the secondary storage device. When the secondary storage is also full, the system 150 may remove the oldest message in the queue, log an error message, and queue the latest message. If archiving is possible in the operational mode, a message that dequeues may be archived with an indicator that the message is not being sent over the network.

  For example, the queue memory and secondary storage of the system 150 may be configured on a per-link basis for a particular application. The long time between periods of network availability can correspond to many memories and secondary storage devices that support network failures. For example, it helps to ensure that the queue is properly sized, and the time between failures is sufficient to help achieve steady state and to avoid eventual queue overflow To help ensure sizing, system 150 may be integrated with network modeling and simulation applications to help ensure that.

  Further, in certain embodiments, the system 150 provides the ability to measure (adjust) inbound (“shaping”) data and outbound (“policy processing”) data. Policy processing and shaping functions help to address network timing discrepancies. The shaping process helps to avoid flooding the network buffer with high priority data queued after low priority data. Policy processing helps to prevent data consumers from overflowing with low priority data. Policy processing and shaping processing are governed by two parameters (effective link speed and link ratio). For example, the system 150 may form a data stream that is not greater than the effective link rate multiplied by the link ratio. The parameters may be changed dynamically as the network changes. The system may also provide access to detected link speeds and support application level decisions in data measurements. The information provided by the system 150 may be combined with other network operational information that helps determine what link speed is appropriate for a given network scenario.

  FIG. 4 illustrates a data communication environment 400 operating in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The data communication environment 400 communicates with one or more nodes 410, one or more networks 420, one or more links 430 connecting the nodes 410 and the network 420, and other components of the data communication environment 400. Including a data communication system 450. The data communication environment 400 may be similar to the data communication environment of FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the data communication system 450 may operate within the node 410. Alternatively, the data communication system 450 may operate within the network 420 and / or between the node 410 and the network 420. As shown in FIG. 4, node 410 may include one or more applications 415 (such as application A and application B).

  The data communication system 450 is adapted to receive, store, configure, prioritize, process, transmit and / or communicate data. Data received, stored, configured, prioritized, transmitted and / or communicated by data communication system 450 may include, for example, blocks of data (such as packets, cells, frames, and / or streams).

  In certain embodiments of the invention, the data communication system 450 may include a data prioritization component 460 and a data communication component 470. Data prioritization component 460 and data communication component 470 are described in detail below.

  Data prioritization component 460 prioritizes data. In certain embodiments of the invention, data prioritization component 460 may prioritize data based at least in part on one or more prioritization rules (such as distinction rules and / or ordering rules). The prioritization rules may be user defined. Prioritization rules may be written in XML and / or provided in one or more DLLs.

  In certain embodiments of the invention, data prioritization component 460 may prioritize data based at least in part on message content. For example, the data priority may be based at least in part on the data format (such as video, audio, measurement data, and / or location data). As another example, the data priority may be based at least in part on the data source. For example, communications from commanders may be assigned higher priority than communications from lower officers.

  In certain embodiments of the invention, data prioritization component 460 may prioritize data based at least in part on protocol information (such as source address and / or transport protocol). In certain embodiments of the invention, data prioritization component 460 prioritizes data based at least in part on the mode.

  In certain embodiments of the invention, data prioritization component 460 may prioritize data by assigning priority to the data. For example, location data and near-hazard emission data may be associated with a “HIGH” priority, while next to shoot data is “MED HIGH”. The top ten shoot list data may be related to the “MED” priority and radiation data for hazards 100 miles away. Situational awareness (SA) data from satellite communications (SATCOM) may be related to “MED LOW” priority, general status data is “LOW” priority May be related to

  As mentioned above, data may be assigned a priority and / or related to a priority. For example, the data priority may include “HIGH”, “MED HIGH”, “MED”, “MED LOW”, or “LOW”. As another example, the data priority may include “KEEP PILOT ALIVE”, “KILL ENEMY”, or “INFOMATIONAL”.

  In certain embodiments of the invention, the data priority may be based at least in part on the type, category and / or group of data. For example, the format of the data is location data, near-hazard radiation data, next target data, top 10 target list data, radiation data about 100 miles away, SA data from SATCOM, and / or general State data may be included. Further, the data may be grouped into categories such as “KEEP PILOT ALIVE”, “KILL ENEMY” and / or “INFORMATIONAL”. For example, “KEEP PILOT ALIVE” data, such as position data and near-haul radiation data, may relate to the health and safety of the pilot. As another example, “KILL ENEMY” data such as the following target data, top 10 target list data, and radiation data for hazards 100 miles away may be relevant to the combat system. As another example, “INFORMATIONAL” data, such as SA data from SATCOM and general state data, may relate to non-combat systems.

  As described above, the data format, category, and / or group may be the same as the data priority and / or similar to the data priority. For example, “KEEP PILOT ALIVE” data, such as location data and near-haul radiation data, may be related to the priority of “KEEP PILOT ALIVE”, which is the next target data, top 10 target list Data and more important than “KILL ENEMY” data related to “KILL ENEMY” priority, such as radiation data for hazards 100 miles away. As another example, “KILL ENEMY” data such as the following target data, top 10 target list data, and radiation data for hazards 100 miles away may be related to “KILL ENEMY” priority. This is more important than “INFORMATIONAL” data related to “INFOMATIONAL” priority like SA data from SATCOM and general status data.

  In certain embodiments of the present invention, data prioritization component 460 may include a differentiation component 462, an ordering component 464, and a data organization component 466. The differentiation component 462, the ordering component 464 and the data organization component 466 are described in detail below.

  The differentiation component 462 distinguishes data. In particular embodiments of the present invention, the differentiation component 462 may differentiate data based at least in part on one or more differentiation rules (such as queue selection rules and / or functional redundancy rules). The distinction rule may be user-defined. The differentiation rules may be written in XML and / or provided in one or more DLLs.

  In certain embodiments of the invention, the differentiation component 462 may add data to the data organization component 466. For example, the differentiation component 462 may add data to the data organization component 466 based at least in part on one or more queue selection rules.

  In certain embodiments of the invention, the differentiation component 462 may remove and / or suppress data from the data organization component 466. For example, the differentiation component 462 may remove data from the data organization component 466 based at least in part on one or more functional redundancy rules.

  The ordering component 464 orders the data. In certain embodiments of the invention, the ordering component 464 may order the data based at least in part on one or more ordering rules (starvation, round robin, relative frequency, etc.). The ordering rules may be user defined. The ordering rules may be written in XML and / or provided in one or more DLLs.

  In certain embodiments of the invention, ordering component 464 may select and / or remove data from data organization component 466. For example, the sequencing component 464 may remove data from the data organization component 466 based at least in part on the sequencing rules.

  Data organization component 466 stores and / or organizes (organizes) data. In particular embodiments of the present invention, data organization component 466 stores and / or configures data based at least in part on priorities (such as “KEEP PILOT ALIVE”, “KILL ENEMY”, and “INFORMATIONAL”). May be.

  In particular embodiments of the present invention, for example, data organization component 466 may include one or more queues (such as Q1, Q2, Q3, Q4, and Q5). For example, data related to “HIGH” priority may be stored in Q1, data related to “MED HIGH” priority may be stored in Q2, and “medium ( Data related to “Medium” priority may be stored in Q3, data related to “MED LOW” priority may be stored in Q4, and “Low” priority Data related to the degree may be stored in Q5. Alternatively, data organization component 466 may include, for example, one or more trees, tables, linked lists, and / or other data structures that store and / or organize data.

  Data communication component 470 communicates data. In particular embodiments of the present invention, the data communication component 470 may be, for example, from the node 410 and / or the application 415 running on the node 410 or on the network 420 and / or the link 430 connecting the node 410 to the network 420. Receive data. In particular embodiments of the present invention, the data communication component 470 may be configured to transmit data to, for example, the node 410 and / or the application 415 running on the node 410, or the link connecting the network 420 and / or the node 410 to the network 420. Send.

  In certain embodiments of the present invention, data communication component 470 communicates with data prioritization component 460. In particular, the data communication component 470 transmits data to the differentiation component 462 and receives data from the sequencing component 464. Alternatively, the data communication component 470 may communicate with the data organization component 466.

  In certain embodiments of the invention, data prioritization component 460 may perform one or more functions of data communication component 470.

  In certain embodiments of the invention, the data communication component 470 may communicate data based at least in part on the data priority.

  In operation, for example, data is received from one or more applications 415 by the data communication component 470. Received data is prioritized by the data prioritization component 460 based at least in part on the message content and / or mode. Prioritized data is transmitted over the network 420 by the data communication component 470.

  In certain embodiments of the invention, the data communication system 450 may not receive all data. For example, some data may be stored in a buffer, and the data communication system 450 may receive only header information and a pointer to the buffer. As another example, the data communication system 450 may be hooked into an operating system protocol stack, such as when an application passes data to the operating system through a transport layer interface (eg, a socket). May provide data communication system 450 with access to the data.

  In certain embodiments of the invention, the data communication system 450 may not discard data. That is, the data may have a low priority, but is not discarded by the data communication system 450. Rather, depending on the amount of high priority data received potentially, the data may be delayed for an extended period of time.

  In certain embodiments of the present invention, the data communication system 450 is transparent to other applications. For example, the processing, configuration and / or prioritization performed by the data communication system 450 may be transparent to one or more nodes 410 or other applications or data sources. As another example, an application 415 running on the same system as the data communication system 450 or a node 410 connected to the data communication system 450 may not be aware of the data prioritization performed by the data communication system 450.

  In certain embodiments of the invention, the data communication system 450 may provide QoS.

  As described above, for example, the components, elements and / or functions of the data communication system 450 may be implemented alone or in various forms of hardware, firmware combinations and / or as a set of software instructions. Also good. Particular embodiments may be provided as a set of instructions residing on a computer readable medium (memory, hard disk, DVD or CD, etc.) executing on a general purpose computer or other processing device.

  FIG. 5 shows a flowchart of a data communication method 500 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The method 500 includes the following steps described in detail below. In step 510, data is received. In step 520, the data is prioritized. In step 530, data is communicated. Although the method 500 is described with reference to the elements of the data communication environment 400 of FIG. 4, it will be appreciated that other implementations are possible.

  In step 510, data is received. For example, the data may be received by the data communication system 450 as described above. As another example, data may be received from node 410 and / or application 415 running on node 410. As another example, for example, data may be received on the network 420 and / or a link connecting the node 410 and the network 420.

  In certain embodiments of the present invention, data may be received from application 415.

  In step 520, the data is prioritized. For example, the data to be prioritized may be the data received in step 510. For example, the data may be prioritized by the data communication system 450 of FIG. 4 as described above. As another example, data may be prioritized by data prioritization component 460 of data communication system 450 based at least in part on data prioritization rules.

  In particular embodiments of the present invention, data may be prioritized based at least in part on one or more prioritization rules. In particular embodiments of the present invention, data may be prioritized based at least in part on message content. In certain embodiments of the invention, the priority of the data may be based at least in part on the mode. In particular embodiments of the present invention, data may be prioritized based at least in part on protocol information. In certain embodiments of the invention, data may be prioritized by assigning priority to the data.

  In step 530, data is communicated. For example, the data to be communicated may be the data received in step 510. For example, the data to be communicated may be data prioritized in step 520. For example, the data may be communicated by the data communication system 450 as described above. As another example, the data may be communicated to node 410 and / or application 415 running on node 410. As another example, data may be communicated over network 420 and / or a link connecting node 410 and network 420.

  In certain embodiments of the invention, data may be communicated over network 420 based at least in part on the priority of the data. For example, the data priority may be the data priority determined in step 520.

  For example, one or more steps of method 500 may be implemented alone or in various forms of hardware, firmware combinations, and / or as a set of software instructions. Particular embodiments may be provided as a set of instructions residing on a computer readable medium (memory, hard disk, DVD or CD, etc.) executing on a general purpose computer or other processing device.

  Certain embodiments of the invention may omit one or more of the foregoing steps and / or perform the steps in a different order than the order described. For example, in certain embodiments of the invention, some steps may not be performed. As a further example, certain steps may be performed in a different temporal order (including simultaneously) than those previously described.

  In one embodiment of the present invention, a method for communicating inbound network data and providing QoS includes receiving data from an application, prioritizing data by assigning priority to the data, and at least part of the priority of the data. To communicate data over a network based on the target. The priority of the data is based at least in part on the message content.

  In one embodiment of the present invention, a system for communicating inbound network data and providing QoS includes a data prioritization component adapted to prioritize data by assigning priority to the data, and data from an application. And a data communication component adapted to communicate data over the network based at least in part on the priority of the data. The priority of the data is based at least in part on the message content.

  In one embodiment of the invention, a computer readable medium includes a set of instructions for execution on a computer. The set of instructions includes a data prioritization routine configured to prioritize data by assigning priorities to the data, and data received from the application, and data at the network based at least in part on the priority of the data. And a data communication routine configured to communicate. The priority of the data is based at least in part on the message content.

  Certain embodiments of the present invention provide an inbound content-based QoS method. This method receives network data with TCP and / or UDP addressing over the network, prioritizes the network data using a prioritization algorithm, processes the network data for redundancy, and processes the network data to one or more applications. Using an extraction algorithm to transfer to The extraction algorithm may be similar to the ordering algorithm described above. For example, the extraction algorithm may be based at least in part on starvation, relative frequency, or a combination of starvation and relative frequency. Starvation indicates that the highest priority queue is serviced and then the lower priority queue is serviced unless it is empty. Starvation can be advantageous because the highest priority data never waits for the lower priority data. However, starvation can be disadvantageous because the low priority queue is not serviced when the highest priority data is sufficient. Relative frequency is similar to starvation, except that there is an upper limit on the number of times a queue is serviced before the next queue is serviced. Relative frequency can be advantageous because all queues are serviced. However, the relative frequency can be disadvantageous because the highest priority data may in some cases wait for lower priority data. The combination of starvation and relative frequency allows the user to select the part of the queue that is processed via starvation and the other part of the queue that is processed via relative frequency. In certain embodiments, the extraction algorithm may be configured by the user.

  Accordingly, certain embodiments of the present invention provide outbound content-based QoS systems and methods. Certain embodiments provide the technical effect of outbound content-type QoS.

Claims (10)

A method of communicating outbound network data and providing quality of service,
Receive data from the application,
Prioritizing the data by assigning a priority to the data, wherein the priority of the data is based at least in part on message content;
Communicating the data over a network based at least in part on the priority of the data.   The method of claim 1, wherein the data is prioritized based at least in part on user-defined rules.   The method of claim 1, wherein the prioritizing step includes distinguishing the data.   The method of claim 1, wherein the prioritizing step includes ordering the data.   The method of claim 1, wherein the prioritizing is transparent to an application program.   The method of claim 1, wherein the data is prioritized to provide quality of service. A system that communicates outbound network data and provides quality of service,
A data prioritization component adapted to prioritize data by assigning a priority to the data, wherein the priority of the data is a data prioritization component based at least in part on message content;
A data communication component adapted to receive the data from an application and to communicate the data over a network based at least in part on the priority of the data.   The system of claim 7, further comprising a differentiation component adapted to differentiate the data.   The system of claim 7, further comprising an ordering component adapted to order the data.   The system of claim 7, wherein the data prioritization component includes a data organization component adapted to configure the data based at least in part on the priority of the data.

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